Homeless young people move into newly refurbished flats in Worksop

Sophie Wills

Young homeless people in Bassetlaw have been given a place to live and rebuild this winter following the opening of four newly-refurbished flats in Worksop.

The four bedroomed property, located on Overend Road, has been transformed into four self-contained apartments by New Roots,-a charity which supports homeless and vulnerable young people in the district.

New Roots has also added a training andconference suite, a teenage parent assessment unit, disabled facilities and additional meeting rooms to the property.

In addition to offering a stable home, the charity will offer a regular programme of activities and volunteering opportunities to encourage young people living in the flats to build confidence and get involved in the Worksop community.

Charity Bank provided a £250,000 loan towards the renovation of the building.

Carol Scawthon, chief executive of New Roots said: “Our new building will provide accommodation of the highest quality for our young people along with an excellent working environment for our staff and volunteers.

“The teenage parent intensive support unit means that young people will no longer have to travel many miles for this service.

“I’m especially proud of the role that our young people have played in this development.

“They have been involved in every stage – from the design, to knocking down the walls, to the construction and even the design of the art work hanging on the wall.

“One of our residents spent six weeks onsite during the build phase gaining valuable skills that will help him to find employment.

“Charity Bank has supported us throughout the process. Charity Bank understands the workings of the wider voluntary sector, but more importantly the bank took the time to understand us – what we do and how we operate – and worked with us to achieve our goal of helping more homeless and vulnerable young people.

“I also wish to thank Richard Comery and his team at Richdon, the construction company, who have done the most amazing job- helping us at every stage of the development and providing a valuable learning opportunity for our young people.”

Carol also went onto thank Retford Rotary Club, who have New Roots service users’ achievements this year at the Retford Rotary Club awards.

Peter Hughes, Charity Bank regional manager, said: “Charity Bank exists to make sure that charities and social enterprises can always be there for the people and communities that need them.

“New Roots help young people with a wide range of needs including those leaving care, young offenders and is particularly known for its work with young parents.

“The new property will provide additional capacity for helping young people and improve facilities for staff and volunteers.

CAPTIONS:

NWGU-09-12-16 new roots 1: Service users and New Roots staff outside the newly-refurbished flats.

NWGU-09-12-16 new roots 2: Casey Jackson and Beth Molyneaux inside one of the new flats.